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Canadian tariffs set for 2026 could raise multifamily construction inputs
Section 338 proclamations signed July 20 will take effect Aug. 19, 2026, including a 50% tariff on covered goods such as cement and plywood.
ConnectCRE reports that President Donald Trump signed three trade proclamations under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 on July 20, with duties scheduled to begin Aug. 19, 2026. The measures impose a 50% tariff on certain goods entering the United States, including cement and plywood, according to the article.
A multifamily developer and contractor, Matt Long of Porter Kyle, said the tariffs remove a prior “safe harbor” for sourcing by noting that USMCA origin rules would no longer shield covered goods from these specific Section 338 duties. He also pointed to how the direct impact lands on input categories that had largely not been tariffed yet, including cement, wood and paper products, machinery and tools, and electrical equipment.
Long said the bigger issue for builders is uncertainty, given that production homebuilding, especially build-to-rent, is underwritten 18 to 36 months out. With only about 30 days’ notice, he described how bids must carry contingency costs tied to the tariff risk, even if tariffs are never collected on every shipment.
The article adds that cement has the broadest pricing ripple, because it is purchased regionally but repriced nationally. Long said cement exposure can be smaller in Phoenix than in some other regions, but that higher costs in northern markets could still translate into pricing power that eventually reaches the Southwest.